First 2 of 6 Turkish attack choppers bought by PH arriving in September

MANILA, Philippines—The first two of six Turkish attack helicopters procured by the Philippines were expected to be delivered this September, the Department of National Defense (DND) said on Tuesday (May 25).

The Philippine government had signed a deal with Turkey for the purchase of six T-129 attack helicopters built by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for P13 billion.

Two more units are expected to be delivered by February 2022, while the remaining two were likely to arrive in February 2023, said DND spokesperson Director Arsenio Andolong.

Previous reports said that Turkey would likely run into problems on engine export license from the United States after it was sanctioned by Washington following its purchase of a Russian weapons system.

But the US approved the export license to Turkey for the sale of the attack helicopters to the Philippines, a report from Middle East Eye said last week.

A Turkish official told Middle East Eye that the engine export license did not need US congressional authorization because the purchase was below $25 million.

The T129 is believed to use LHTEC T800-4A turboshaft engines, produced through a joint venture between the American firm Honeywell and the British company Rolls-Royce.

The Philippine Air Force’s 15th Strike Wing, the end user of the attack helicopters, announced on Facebook last Saturday (May 22), that it sent off pilots and crew for the T-129 to train at TAI in Ankara, Turkey.

The training program would be from May to August 2021.

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